CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The old City of Corpus Christi council chambers at city hall hasn't been updated since the 1980s.
A new and improved version of what City Manager Peter Zanoni calls "the people's room" is nearing completion with the first council meeting to take place in the new council chambers set for March 19.
"I think this is the best meeting room in all of Corpus Christi," Zanoni said. "We're pretty excited, its a huge transformation."
The almost $2.5 million revamp of the council chambers has taken place over the last four months. During that time, council meetings have been held over at the RTA building across the street.
Work crews gutted out the old meeting room and rebuilt it from scratch.
The city manager was eager to show off the upgrades; a night-and-day difference compared to the old council cambers.
"It'll give our council members a better atmosphere to conduct business and it gives our viewing audience and audience that participates a much better space," he said.
Basically everything from the ground up is new. But, you'll still find the original city seal that had been in the chambers for many years. It too, was given a refresh.
In the back there are 50 additional permanent seats, surrounded by large TV's placed throughout to better see presentations.
"The visual experience the hearing experience is much different now before the monitors were in a place you really couldn't see well you kind of had to turn your whole body these are much bigger much brighter, the sound is all brand new," Zanoni said.
The seats were handpicked to be comfortable knowing people would have to sit through those long meetings.
And while you might worry the cream colored seating might easily get dirty, Zanoni said not to worry. They're actually pretty durable.
"Real high quality fabric that is used in Disneyland, we will have protocols in place to make sure we wipe it down and stays in this good shape," he said.
The construction for the new chambers cost about $1 Million, but there's was another major cost to things you might not see at first. The technology upgrades come in at $1.5 Million .
"We had a lot of difficulties keeping our broadcast constant because of the older equipment, so a nice refresh here for our city council chambers where we conduct our business meetings with the city council," Zanoni said.
There are multiple new cameras, operated from a new control room off to the side. Large microphones above the audience also enhances the experience.
But a major improvement can be seen in the new ADA accommodations.
"So there is a better seating area for persons with disabilities," he said. "There will be better speaking areas in the front here if someone is in a wheelchair."
At the front where council members sit, there are digital signs where names can be easily swapped.
"You can't tell, but these signs here are all digital this room is not only used for city council but also planning commission meeting with the stroke of a few keys we can change out who is sitting here," Zanoni said
Lights above those signs show who is speaking, and who wants to talk and instead of just hearing council member's vote, you'll be able to clearly see the tally play out on the big screens.
"So, they days where people raise their hand or say 'yea' or 'nay' are no longer here; we'll be using a touch system to vote yes no or abstain and within a few seconds the tally will be shown on the screen," he said.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- Missing Corpus Christi woman; reported found Friday evening
- Staying safe behind the wheel and steering clear of road rage
- More than 20 Aquarium turtles on path to recovery following January cold front
- Alice ends Stage Two water restrictions Monday
- What has all these wing restaurants flying to Corpus Christi?
- Beach permits for 2024 are now available for purchase
- The 'Dr. Hector P. Garcia Papers' at TAMU-CC, additional archives help keep his memory alive
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for your daily news and exclusive extended interviews.
Do you have a news tip? Tell 3!
Email tell3@kiiitv.com so we can get in touch with you about your story should we have questions or need more information. We realize some stories are sensitive in nature. Let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.